PRIESTS OF THE PARISH
Rev John Doherty PP Tel: 028 7188 2274
Rev Paul Farren Tel: 028 7188 3247

Sunday 16th May 2010

Ascension of the Lord

‘Now as he (Jesus) blessed them, he withdrew from them and was carried up to heaven. They worshipped him and then went back to Jerusalem full of joy.’ The feast of the Ascension of the Lord is above all else a feast of hope. Hope has been described as, not just some vague kind of feeling, but rather having someone or something worth living for and dying for. In Christ we have such a person. He lives in us in our marriage and family relationships and it is worth putting every effort into making those the best possible for his sake. He lives among us in our community and again we need to do everything in our power to make our parish the best we possibly can to his glory and for the good of all. And Christ lives for us in heaven at the right hand of the Father, assuring us of our ultimate destiny among the saints. We can aim to be there!

Fr. Johnny Doherty, C.Ss.R.

Sunday, 16th May 2010

Ascension of the Lord ~ World Communications Day

First Reading : Acts of the Apostles 1: 1-11
It is what you have heard me speak about: John baptised with water but you,
not many days from now, will be baptised with the Holy Spirit.

Second Reading:
Ephesians 1: 17-23
May the God of our Lord Jesus Christ, the Father of glory, give you a spirit of wisdom and
perception of what is revealed, to bring you to full knowledge of him.

Gospel: Luke 24: 46-53
Go, therefore, make disciples of all the nations: baptise them in the name of the
Father and of the Son and of the Holy Spirit.

Cemetery Sunday
The Blessing of Graves will take place at 3.00pm today (Sunday) in St. Mary’s Cemetery, Cloughcor. Please bring holy water for the sprinkling of your family graves.

Congratulations to our Newly Confirmed Children!

We congratulate the fifty children who received the sacrament of Confirmation on Thursday. We thank Bishop Séamus Hegarty for administering the sacrament, and also the parents and teachers for preparing the children for this very important occasion in their lives. We thank those who prepared the church and grounds and provided and arranged the flowers; those who took part in the ceremony; the sacristan, the stewards and the men who directed the traffic. We are also grateful to all who prepared and served the refreshments in St. Patrick’s Hall and the meal in the Parochial House. We pray that the Holy Spirit may help and guide these children to be faithful friends of Jesus in the years that lie ahead.

The ‘Confirmation’ Pledge

Next Sunday 23rd May is Pentecost Sunday – and it’s another important day in the lives of the young people who were confirmed on Thursday, because at each Mass in this parish we will be offering them an opportunity to promise to abstain from alcohol until at least eighteen years of age, and also to abstain from illegal drugs for the remainder of their lives. If other young people wish to renew the pledge they made in the recent or not so recent past, they too will be given the opportunity to do so. It’s a decision that should be discussed with parents and should be taken only if there’s a serious intention to be faithful to the promise.

Those who wish to take the pledge are invited to come to any one of the four Masses next weekend in Leckpatrick parish:

Sacred Heart Church – Saturday at 7.00pm or Sunday at 11.30am
St. Mary’s, Cloughcor – Sunday at 9.15am
St. Joseph’s, Glenmornan – Sunday at 10.15am.

We pray that the Holy Spirit will guide our children in making one of the most important decisions in their young lives.

First Anniversary Mass

The first anniversary Mass for the late Margaret McDaid, Station Road will take place in St. Mary’s Church, Cloughcor tomorrow (Monday) at 7.30pm.

Taize

You are invited to an hour of Taize prayer and chant on

Wednesday 19th May 2010 at 7.30pm in

St. Colman’s chapel [behind St. Mary’s Church, Melmount].

Everyone is welcome.

Last week’s Collection was £1,881.00. Many thanks.

Trócaire
Trócaire would like to thank the parishioners of Leckpatrick for their very generous donation of £12,450.00 towards their recent Haiti Earthquake Appeal.

New Parish Envelopes – A Warning!
Please note that the new parish envelopes are now ‘peel and seal’.

Diocesan Purposes Collection
The second envelope collection next weekend is the Diocesan Purposes Collection – also known as the Bishop’s Collection. The collection is used to help in the administration of the diocese.

First Holy Communions

First Holy Communion for the children of St. Mary’s Primary School will take place in the Sacred Heart Church on Saturday next 22nd at 11.00am.

First Holy Communion for the children of St. Joseph’s Primary School in Glenmornan Church will take place on Sunday next 23rd at 10.15am.

Strabane Family History Society
The final meeting of the season will take place in Strabane Community Library at 7.30pm on Thursday 20th May 2010.

Q. If the triumph of Jesus was complete at the Resurrection, what does the Ascension add to it?

A. The forty days between Easter Sunday and Ascension Thursday represent a period of readjustment for the disciples. They needed time to let go of the daily, physical presence of the Lord. It was a period of further instruction when the Risen Lord appeared to them to show them how to recognise his presence in ways such as the breaking of the bread [Eucharist], in the forgiveness of sins, and the leadership of Peter.

Fr. Silvester O’Flynn OFM Cap

NI Blood Transfusion Service
A team will be in St. Patrick’s Hall, Strabane on Wednesday 19th May from 1.30pm until 4.00pm and again from 5.15pm until 8.00pm. Both existing and new donors are welcome to come along – you could save a life!

The following are asked to assist as collectors and church cleaners during the month of May:

SACRED HEART CHURCH:

Collectors:
Saturday 7.00pm:-
Manus McLaughlin, Liam Ward,
Lawrence Doherty and Tony McDaid.
Sunday 11.30am:-
Denis Hegarty

Cleaners: Team F

ST. MARY’S CHURCH, CLOUGHCOR:

Collectors:

Noel McDaid and Brian Farrell.

Altar Society & Cleaners:
Mary Devine, Ita Devine and Alicia Devine.

ST. JOSEPH’S CHURCH, GLENMORNAN

Collectors: –

Altar Society: Nellie Doherty, Margaret Harte and Kathleen Kelly.

Our thanks are due to all who served the parish in any way during the month of April.

Reflection

It can happen that we lose interest in people,
and even become blind to their strengths,
when we discover their limitations.
During his passion Jesus discovered the limitations of Peter.
Yet he didn’t write him off.
He continued to believe in him,
and in time he came good.
Like Peter, we are weak human beings,
who are inconstant in our beliefs.
We need someone who understands our weaknesses,
who realises that it may take time for us to overcome them,
and who doesn’t write us off because
we don’t produce the goods at once.